Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide communication services to both fixed and mobile devices. These services can include voice, data, video, messaging, web browsing, etc. Wireless communication has certain advantages, such as mobility, over wired communications for accessing a network. Various wireless standards have been adopted or proposed for wireless networks. These standards include 802.11 (WiFi), 802.16 (WiMAX), TIA-856 (which is also known as Evolution-Data Optimized—EV-DO), and long term evolution (LTE). Additional standards such as the fourth generation communication system (4G) are also being pursued.
Because of transmit power regulations, interference, and/or radio wave propagation characteristics, a base station may be unable to provide some wireless devices (a.k.a., user equipment—UE) with coverage and/or a desired level of service (e.g., throughput, packet loss, etc.). One approach to improving coverage and/or service, particularly to user equipment near the edge of, or outside of, a base station's direct coverage area is to relay communication between the base station and a wireless device via another wireless device. Relaying by a wireless device may also be used in crowded areas to improve coverage and/or service. Relaying in an area where there is a high number of other wireless devices is used to increase the available throughput to the wireless devices being relayed. However, a donor access node may be unaware that a particular wireless device has been configured to relay communication between the donor access node and another wireless device. Thus, the access node may not adequately service the wireless device being relayed.